Do Niggles Lead to Injuries?

Why turning a blind eye to a niggle could cost your season

A little twinge in the hamstring, minor ache coming from the knee. You’d be lucky not to go a season without a minor niggle. For most of us we try to brush it off, ‘Argh, it won’t be serious’, after all who really wants to miss out on next weeks game. No one.

But the reality is, if we manage the niggles well, the major injuries are far less likely to occur.

As physios we hear this a lot, someone turns up with an injury and after a short discussion we realise that there had been an issue for a few weeks that then suddenly got worse. Anecdotally we knew that niggles lead to more severe injuries, but it wasn’t until recently that we had evidence to back it up.

Research undertaken on semi-professional football players (read more here) found that

• Players who experienced niggles (physical complaints that had minor or moderate impact on participation or performance) were 3 – 6 times more likely to suffer an injury resulting in missed games or training in the following 7 days.
• 68% of all time-loss injuries (ie injuries that meant time out of the game) were preceded by niggles, with 94% of knee & 90% of hamstring injuries preceded by a niggle.
• The weekly risk of injury for a fully fit player was 6%, while for those players who reported a niggle, this risk rose to 22%.

An overview of the research and findings can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTPxtUrzkIs

‍

So what is the takeaway here?

Niggles matter. By ignoring them you are significantly raising the risk of more serious injury.

If you do experience a niggle

• Rest, don’t try and push through it.
• Reduce training and game time. A lessening in physical activity will mean it likely won’t get worse, and could heal quickly
• Seek expert advice. A quick consultation with our team will help in identifying whether you are ok to continue with your activity, how you can protect the injury, or the best course of action to return fully fit.

‍

Got a niggle?

Book in to see the team today.

‍